Diving Galapagos Islands

The Evolutionary Melting Pot of Marine Life

This legendary Ecuador diving destination is often considered by experienced divers to represent something of a pinnacle in their scuba careers. In that sense, many agree that the Galapagos Islands have, quite simply, the best liveaboard diving trips in the world, plus incredible non-diving wildlife adventure cruises.

Such is the range of creatures, that it is difficult to avoid lists when discussing Galapagos scuba diving. Imagining a vacation involving sea lions, penguins, seals, eagle rays, marine iguanas, hammerhead sharks, Galapagos sharks, turtles, golden rays and whale sharks is a phenomenal experience. These encounters, which are at once educational and exciting, make the appeal of the archipelago obvious.

While many places have superior reefs, sea conditions and ease of accessibility, there is no other island chain here, the area is in a huge protected marine reserve and virtually free of commercial fishing, and the waters are densely populated by a vast and disparate array of marine creatures. Since the Galapagos are volcanic oceanic islands, unconnected to the continent, deep sea upwellings make the waters rich in nutrients and therefore thriving with life.

Learning about evolution by natural selection in a place where the evidence is so compelling and where historically, the Galapagos Islands played such a major role in the development of Darwin's revolutionary thinking is truly a unique vacation experience. To do so in a place where each dive promises extraordinary sightings is nothing short of a ‘must do once in a lifetime’ experience for any semi-serious diver.

Wolf Island will be one of the mainstays of your liveaboard trip and promises lots of breath-taking action including amazing eagle ray encounters, lots of sharks and unforgettable dolphin moments. Darwin Island is the northernmost land mass of the archipelago and will deliver some of the most memorable dives of your Ecuador holiday package. Hundreds of hammerheads and Galapagos sharks can pass right by your nose and you can expect incredible whale shark encounters when in season. Wolf and Darwin are the 2 essential stops on any dive cruise here.

Punta Vincente Roca is a cold water site that is like visiting a different country. With mola mola, red-lipped batfish, seahorses and horn sharks, there are lots of scuba highlights plus the coastline is crawling with penguins, sea lions, marine iguanas and a variety of interesting birds.

Source: www.dive-the-world.com

RELATED VIDEO

Galapagos Islands - Diving with Sea Lions at Floreana

Scuba Diving Seymur - ecuador galapagos islands ...

Humboldt Explorer - Diving the Galapagos Islands!

RELATED FACTS

Wolf Island or Wenman Island is a small island in the Galapagos Islands and was named after the German geologist Theodor Wolf, who also has the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island named after him. It has an area of 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) and a maximum altitude of 253 m (830...

Giant Hawkfish, Cirrhitus rivulatus is a subspecies of hawkfish. It is a marine fish and remains the largest of the Hawkfish family, scoring in a maximum size of 60 cm (22 in). It is known for its social behavior towards scuba divers and its uncanny ability to perch...

The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is the smallest of the eight species of pelican, although it is a large bird in nearly every other regard. It is 106–137 cm (42–54 in) in length, weighs from 2.75 to 5.5 kg (6.1 to 12 lb) and has a wingspan from 1.83 to 2.5...